Dignity, virtue and punishment : the ethical justification of disciplinary segregation in prisoners
journal contribution
posted on 2010-11-01, 00:00authored byTony Ward
In this paper I reflect on Bersot and Arrigo’s argument that virtue ethics provides a sound ethical theory to guide judicial decisions concerning the legitimacy of subjecting mentality disordered offenders to long-term disciplinary solitary confinement. I expand on three issues evident in the Bersot and Arrigo paper: (1) the nature and justification of punishment; (2) the concept of dignity and its relevance to mentally disordered offenders placed in disciplinary solitary confinement, and (3) the nature and scope of virtue theory in the criminal justice context.
History
Journal
Journal of theoretical and philosophical criminology